CORE
🇺🇦
make metadata, not war
Services
Services overview
Explore all CORE services
Access to raw data
API
Dataset
FastSync
Content discovery
Recommender
Discovery
OAI identifiers
OAI Resolver
Managing content
Dashboard
Bespoke contracts
Consultancy services
Support us
Support us
Membership
Sponsorship
Community governance
Advisory Board
Board of supporters
Research network
About
About us
Our mission
Team
Blog
FAQs
Contact us
Petrological evidence supports the death mask model for the preservation of Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms in South Australia
Authors
AT Brasier
AG Liu
+3 more
JJ Matthews
S McMahon
JW Still
Publication date
1 January 2019
Publisher
'Geological Society of America'
Abstract
© 2019 Geological Society of America. Microbially mediated early diagenetic pyrite formation in the immediate vicinity of organic material has been the favored mechanism by which to explain widespread preservation of soft-bodied organisms in late Ediacaran sedimentary successions, but an alternative rapid silicification model has been proposed for macrofossil preservation in sandstones of the Ediacara Member in South Australia. We here provide petrological evidence from Nilpena National Heritage Site and Ediacara Conservation Park to demonstrate the presence of grain-coating iron oxides, framboidal hematite, and clay minerals along Ediacara Member sandstone bedding planes, including fossil-bearing bed soles. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), cathodoluminescence microscopy (CL), and petrographic data reveal that framboids and grain coatings, which we interpret as oxidized pyrite, formed before the precipitation of silica cements. In conjunction with geochemical and taphonomic considerations, our data suggest that anactualistically high concentrations of silica need not be invoked to explain Ediacara Member fossil preservation: We conclude that the pyritic death mask model remains compelling
Similar works
Full text
Available Versions
Supporting member
Oxford University Research Archive
See this paper in CORE
Go to the repository landing page
Download from data provider
oai:ora.ox.ac.uk:uuid:4d009209...
Last time updated on 25/11/2020